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[Extract from the 18th Annual Report of the Indiana Agricultural Experiment Station for 

1897.] 



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getanieal f)epai[tment5. 



By J. 0. ARTHUE, 



DiaTRIBUTEO ARRIL.. tSSS. 



INDIANAPOLIS : 

WU. H. BUBFOBI), CONTRACTOR FOR 8TATK PRIHTING AKD BINDIKG. 

1898. 



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REPORT OF THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT* 



To C. S. Plumb, Director: 

Sir — The work of the Botanical Department of the Station for 
the year 1897 has been a continuation of that of the previous year 
without serious interruption, there having been no change in the 
personnel of the department or in its policy. At the close of the 
previous year the rooms of the department were renovated and 
treated with paint, and an additional room provided, having 300 
square feet of floor space, to be especially devoted to laboratory in- 
struction. This improvement has added both to the convenience 
and the efiiciency of the experimental Avork, by the partial with- 
drawal of students from the general laboratory, especially for the five 
months from January to May, inclusive, during which University 
classes in vegetable physiology, ecology and pathology receive in- 
struction.* A general account of the equipment of the department 
was given in the report of last year, which remains equally applica- 
ble at the present time. 

POTATO. 

It is a matter for congratulation that the efforts of the depart- 
ment in the study of the potato scab, and especially the attempt to 
provide a cheap, safe and convenient remedy, have met with the 
most signal success. Experiments were begun in the greenhouse in 
the winter of 1895-6 and carried to completion in the field during 
the following summer, which led to the conclusion that formalin 
was an effective fungicide against scab, and furthermore, that it met 
the above-named requirements of cheapness and convenience, and 
particularly of safety. What had been wanted was a remedy pos- 
sessing the good qualities of corrosive sublimate, but without its 
deadly poisonous properties. Such a remedy has been found in 
formalin. 

The results of the trials of 1896 were first published in a news- 
paper bulletin in February of the present year (1897), in order to 
give the farming public the benefit of the discovery in time to make 

"Much of the botanical instruction provided by Purdue University is given at the lab- 
oratories in Science Hall by Professor Stanley Coulter and his associates, especially in gen- 
eral, structural and systematic botnny, histology, fermentation, bacteriology, adn other 
special subjects. 



2 

it of service in the management of the year's crop. The full report 
of the experiments, which had been prepared at the close of the 
previous season, was not printed until June, and in a limited edi- 
tion. Persons desiring it (Bulletin 65) are expected to make appli- 
cation to the Director of the Station. It will be sent to such persons 
prepaid and free of charge. 

The bulletin on "Formalin for Prevention of Potato Scab" (No. 
65) consists of 20 pages and two plates, and gives the history of the 
subject, the results obtained at the Station, the results obtained by 
others, some account of the nature of formalin and specific direc- 
tions for its use. It also discusses the relation of soil moisture to the 
increase of scab, and details an important method for the estimation 
of the injury to the crop. 

The department carried on no tests of formalin during 1897, but 
hoped that it would be tried by many potato growers under suffi- 
ciently diverse conditions to gauge its value as a serviceable fungi- 
cide for general use. All reports so far received from growers 
agree in commending the remedy as meeting every reasonable 
requirement and fully afiirming the good points claimed for it in 
the bulletin. Two letters are selected from the correspondence — 
one from Nebraska and the other from Massachusetts — -which not 
only represent widely different sections of the country, but add 
some items of practical interest worthy of record. 

Mr. B. B. Eice, of Graiid Island, IN'eb., writes, under date of 
October 27, 1897, that he treated 21 bushels of Early Ohio pota- 
toes. The seed tubers were ''large, quite free from scab, having 
been selected from the scabby crop of last year." He purchased a 
one-pound bottle of formalin ($1.25). Two barrels were used, and 
into each was put (by guess) 15 gallons of water and one-half the 
formalin. A bushel of uncut potatoes contained in a sack was 
dropped into each barrel, and after remaining a time, another 
bushel was put in, the same solution being used over and over until 
all were treated. The course of treatment was as follows: 

One bushel in each barrel 3 times for 2 hours 6 bushels 

One bushel in each bai*rel 2 times for 2I/4 hours 4 bushels 

One bushel in each barrel 2 times for 2^2 hours 4 bushels 

One bushel in each barrel 2 times for 2% hours 4 bushels 

Three-fourths bxishel in each barrel 2 times 

for 3 hours 3 bushels 

Total 21 bushels 



3 

He goes on to say (and tliis is a specially valuable contribution 
to the subject): "I could detect no difference in the amount of 
scab in the crop from seed treated first or last." He says, further: 
"I think now that the seed, although quite clean, should have been 
washed before it was placed in the solution, but I did not know it 
at the time the treatment was given. The 21 bushels were planted 
on four acres. One-third the field was well cared for; there the 
tubers were quite free of scab. The rest was very weedy and the 
potatoes a little more scabby. Yet on the whole the crop was not 
more than one-third as scabby as it was last year. The average yield 
was over 80 bushels per acre. I think your remedy is valuable and 
that it has benefited me, for the neighbor from whom I bought my 
seed a year ago did not doctor his potatoes last spring, and his crop 
this fall is very scabby — three times as bad as mine. Both fields of 
potatoes were planted in fresh soil — land not previously used for 
potatoes." 

The other letter from which I wish to quote was received from 
Mr. Frank H. Goodhue, of ISTorth Andover, ]\!ass., dated December 
18, 189 Y. He writes: "The land I used for the experiment, about 
three-fourths of ah acre, had been in mowing for 13 consecutive 
years. I broke the sod about nine inches deep, then harrowed 
thoroughly, furrowed three* feet apart and put seed about one foot 
apart in the hills. 

"I used 800 pounds Stockbridge potato fertilizer and 500 pounds 
Standard potato fertilizer, but used no stable manure. I put a 
large handful of fertilizer in each hill, mixed it thoroughly with the 
soil, then dropped the seed, covering it with about two inches of 
soil, scattered another handful of fertilizer over it, and finished 
off with some more soil. In order that the fertilizer might not cause 
the tubers to vary, the same kind was used on treated and untreated 
seed of each variety. 

"The land was nearly level, only a slight rise on the west side; 
soil moist, but not wet. As far as moisture was concerned, the soil 
was alike on both treated and untreated seed. There was not a 
tree or building near the field to interfere. 

"I planted four bushels each of Somerset and Rose Standish and 
also a few potatoes of Early Harvest and Early Fortune, and also 
some of Dandy and Old Merino, one-half of each variety being 
treated with formalin. The smaller lots were subjected only two 



hours to formalin, but the Somerset and Rose Standish were treated 
three hours. All of the seed was nearly free from scab. In order to 
be as accurate as possible, I put only three rows of untreated seed 
between the rows of treated seed. 

"The seed was treated, then dried and planted about a M^eek after 
treatment. Being A^ery busy, I did not empty the formalin for 
eight days after using, and on doing so I found two tubers of the 
Somerset variety in the bottom of the cask. I planted them along 
with the Rose Standish that were not treated, making two hills of 
them, so that I would know them at harvest time. "When we came 
to them I dug them myself. They were large, smooth and the 
cleanest potatoes I have ever dug from the soil. 

"x\.ll the treated seed produced clean, smooth and handsome 
tubers, with not a rotten one among them, while the untreated were 
rather inferior in size, with many tubers considerably scabbed, say 
one-third of the surface, and about 3 per cent, were rotten. 

"I think, with eight ounces of formalin to 15 gallons of water, 
that four hours' treatment are better than two hours. I am also in- 
clined to believe the remedy is to some extent a preventive for rot." 

Both of these reports indicate the important character of this 
remedy and the ease of its application. As shown by Mr. Goodhue, 
the length of time the seed tubers are bept in the solution does not 
noticeably affect their growth, especially if they have not sprouted 
too much, and a longer immersion kills the germs of the scab disease 
more completely. It is probable that the repeated use of the same 
solution could not, as a rule, be safely carried so far as practiced 
by Mr. Rice, but a half dozen times might still give good results, if 
the tubers were free from dirt and the periods of immersion were 
sufficiently prolonged. The report of Mr. Goodhue is especially to 
be commended for the careful way in which the treated and un- 
treated material were subjected to uniform conditions. It will be a 
most important point gained when cultivators generally learn to try 
new remedies and methods of all kinds with a control for compari- 
son, as in this case. 

LETTUCE. 

Several crops of lettuce have been grown in the greenhouse of 
the department during the last two years, but the most important 
part of the work reached completion in 189Y. The results have 



been embodied in a bulletin of 20 pages and two plates, prepared 
by the Assistant Botanist, Mr. William Stnart. This bulletin has 
been sent to those thought to be interested in the subject. It can 
be obtained by others upon application to the Director, A brief 
statement of the main facts, unaccompanied by tables, has been pre- 
pared and printed by the Station in a bulletin bearing date of Oc- 
tober, 1897. 

The results obtained embrace some important items for the culti- 
vation of indoor lettuce. By the use of commercial fertilizers the 
yield of the benches was increased more than three and a half times, 
when properly combined and applied; but with injudicious use their 
application decreased the yield. A moderately thick planting was 
found, contrary to expectation, to produce a heavier crop per square 
foot of bench than thinner planting. The use of flower pots to 
secure a ball of earth around the roots when marketed, and also for 
convenience in handling, was found to invariably lessen the yield. 
A method of obtaining the advantages of the pot with only the 
slightest check to growth is recommended in the bulletin, based 
upon the result of tlie experiments. The crops obtained by methods 
considered commendable were of the highest market value in both 
amount and quality. 

CORN. 

Observations and studies of corn smut have been continued dur- 
ing the year. The inoculation of young plants in second leaf with 
formation of smut pustules was successfully accomplished during 
October in the greenhouse by spraying Avith germinating spores. 
All the results and facts ()l)tained will evcntiinlly be brought to- 
gether in a bulletin. 

BEET. 

Further researches into the nature of the peculiar sugar-destroy- 
ing disease of the sugar beet, some account of which has already been 
published in Bulletin ISTo. 39 (April, 1893), and there ascribed to 
a specific kind of parasitic bacteria, have been prosecuted, most of 
the work being done by Miss Clara Cunningham as a part of her 
University studies. The bacterinl nature of the disease, a point 
which has been called in question, has been confirmed, and many 



details of the life history of the parasite have been worked out. 
Excellent photographs have been secured, showing clearly the 
characteristic appearance of diseased beets, which will be used to 
illustrate the next contribution to the subject. 

ROSE. 

The use of different commercial fertilizers in growing the rose 
for cut flowers has been continued from last year. The same plants 
that were used last year, having been wintered in a cold pit, were 
used again without repotting. ]\lost of the cans received an addi- 
tional amount of the same fertilizers used the preceding season, a 
few cans being reserved, however, for special treatment. The re- 
sults of the season confirm in the main those of last year. 

In order to test in the open field the results obtained in the vege- 
tation house, a piece of ground was planted with 14 varieties of 
hardy and semi-hardy roses. They were from two-and-a-half-inch 
pots, twelve of each variety. Nothing of importance was learned 
the present season, however, as the plants did not become suffi- 
ciently well established to respond noticeably to the presence of 
fertilizers. 

This set of experiments is especially under the charge of the 
Assistant Botanist. 

CINERARIA. 

The plants of this attractive flower, which had been brought 
into bloom in December, 1896, continued to fill the greenhouse to 
its full capacity through January, February, March and April with 
a rich and brilliant display of flowers. Many of the plants bore 
more than 300 flowers each, and as specimen plants or in mass 
were universally admired. About 30 ladies of the city were asked 
to cooperate with the Station in testing the adaptability of the 
plants to decorative purposes under ordinary household conditions. 
They received plants and cared for them as they thought best until 
no longer decorative, reporting upon the frequency of watering, 
amount applied, temperature of the rooms, extent of exposure to 
sunlight, time when the first flowers failed and time when the plant 
became unattractive. The trials resulted most satisfactorily, and, 



taken altogether, much data has been accumulated upon the 
method of handling the plant and its adaptability to household dec- 
oration, which it is hoped may be early embodied in a bulletin. 

FOOD OP PLANTS. 

Of all the problems in the physiology of phints, probably none 
so directly bears upon the methods and profits of intensive farming 
and high cultivation generally as the application to the soil of barn- 
yard and commercial fertilizers for the purpose of supplying food 
for the growing crop. Great advance has been made since the days 
of Liebig, the great promoter of high-grade husbandry, in the profit- 
able use of fertilizers and in a knowledge of the requirements of 
different crops, and yet the practice remains largely empirical. 

An exact knowledge of the kinds of food required by each 
kind of plant, of the method of its assimilation and of the ap- 
portionment of it within the plant to the building up of the differ- 
ent organs, has been exceedingly difficult to acquire. From Roman 
days, when agriculture was held in such high esteem that it was 
considered a worthy subject for the pen of the greatest poets, until 
the present time, little of a fundamental character has been added 
to our knowledge of the subject by the open-field method. Field 
experiments properly follow, but cannot take precedence, in provid- 
ing the initial facts upon which rational husbandry should find a 
sure foundation. A great impetus was given to the elementary 
study, when, in 1860, the modern method of water cultures was 
introduced, by which, among other things, the now well-known fact 
that the carbon of the plant is obtained from the air and not from 
the soil was first definitely established. Since then cultures in water, 
sand and artificial earths and in restricted amounts of soil, kept 
under conditions controlled by the experimenter, have yielded the 
most valuable additions to our knowledge. 

With a view of promoting a better understanding of some of the 
questions connected with the food and food supply of plants, the 
department has cari*Ied on studies in pot and bench cultures since 
the erection of the vegetation house, in 1893. Oats, wheat, corn, 
potatoes, buckwheat, roses, lettuce and certain weeds have been 
used in the experiments. Some of the data, discussed from the 
commercial side, was recently presented in the lettuce bulletin, 



referred to above, but the bulk of the results yet remain unpub- 
lished. It is proposed to continue these studies, with the hope that 
they may add some facts of importance to exact knowledge, and in 
particular, furnish data for improved and more economical ways 
of increasing yield by means of fertilizers. 

SIZE OF SEED. 

Experiments have been instituted from time to time, and the 
results j)artly published, w^iich have established beyond doubt 
that the larger seeds of any particular kind of plant give a larger 
crop than the smaller seeds, both being grown under the same con- 
ditions. The experiments are now being continued in a somewhat 
modified form to ascertain how far the increase can be expected to 
extend, by selecting the largest seeds from each successive genera- 
tion. Peas and beans are used, an account being kept of the size 
of the seeds sown each time, and of the size of the resulting plant, 
as well as of the number and size of the resulting seeds. It is, in 
fact, an attempt to ascertain the law of increase in size when 
brought about solely by the selection of the largest seeds through a 
series of generation. 

SUB-WATERINa FOR GREENHOUSEvS. 

Of the various factors influencing the growth of plants, none is of 
greater moment than the control of the water supply. It has been 
until recently almost an axiom in culture under glass that an atmos- 
phere heavily charged with moisture was a prime essential to suc- 
cess. To secure this condition excessive watering and sprinkling of 
the surface was resorted to. The plants being grown in shallow 
benches or in pots often suffered for moisture in the soil about the 
roots when the surface soil and the atmosphere were excessively 
moist. 

Most crops forced under glass, especially those belonging natur- 
ally to temperate climates, such as tomatoes, iettuce, radish, cauli- 
flower, carnations, roses, chrysanthemums, etc., thrive best with a 
moderately moist and Avell-aerated soil and rather dry atmosphere. 
The last condition is especially needed to promote a rapid move- 
ment of water tlirougli the plant, by which the food materials taken 



from the soil are transported to the upper parts and made available 
for growtli. In some cases the continued health of the plants de- 
pends upon the strength of this transpiration stream. 

This method of sub-watering supplies moisture readily to the 
part of the soil where it is most needed; it keeps the soil friable and 
well aerated; it prevents the packing of the surface soil and retards 
the accumulation of weeds and slime; it promotcb a drier atmos- 
phere, especially in contact Avith the plants, and removes much of 
the danger of invasion by molds, rots and other fungous diseases by 
permitting the surface of the foliage to be kept dry, and in many 
ways it brings about cultural conditions better than those obtained 
by the old methods. 

The crops grown with this system of watering are larger and of 
better quality than usually secured, and it is believed that the re- 
sults of our trials, especially during 1897, warrant its recommen- 
dation for commercial houses, although the first cost is consid- 
erable (13 cents per square foot in the trial bench at the Station). 
The system has been explained, with illustrations, in the bulletin on 
indoor lettuce (No. 6Q), previously referred to. 

OUTSIDE STORAGE. 

For several yeare the department was without suitable iiu^iuis of 
carrying tubers, bulbs and dormant plants through the winter. Tn 
the fall of 1896 an outside storage pit was constructed that has 
met the demands so fully that it is worthy of brief mention. There 
is nothing novel about the method, but its cheapness and efficiency 
are probably not generally recognized. 

The pit consists of a cellar nine by fifteen feet, two-thirds sunken 
below the general surface of the ground, with five hotbed sashes 
forming the north slope of the roof, and the rest of the roof and 
the sides banked with earth and layers of straw. A bulkhead en- 
trance with inner door and extra banking of straw in the coldest 
weather kept the pit from freezing during the winter of 1896-7. 
The bench was formed by leaving a ledge of earth, and the roof 
and side supports were made from the roughest material. The total 
cost of the structure was very small. 

Perle des Jardin and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria roses, alto- 
gether over 100 pots, were placed in the pit NoA'^ember 25 and were 



10 

taken out April 1, every plant in excellent condition, many of them 
still retaining much of their foliage. A few potatoes were also 
stored in the pit, and w^ere kept in perfect condition. It is again 
being used to its full capacity for the winter season of 1897-8. 

This is a clieap and efficient means of winter storage, and its pos- 
sibilities deserve to be kept in mind. The department could econ- 
omically use a much larger pit than the present one, and the pur- 
poses to which it is put might profitably be much extended. 
Respectfully submitted, 

J. C. ARTHUR, 

Botanist. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



003 071 963 3 



